Photo: Jmorgan1959 · CC BY-SA 3.0Osborne’s library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries its size
Osborne Public Library serves Osborne’s 1,303 residents. Last year it lent 20K books, movies and e-books and logged 13K visits.
The short version on Osborne’s library
Programs are almost all for children
89% of the 81 programs last year were for ages 11 and under, including 41 for ages 0–5. Kids & programs ↓
Osborne uses its library more than almost any town its size
Osborne Public Library logs 9.7 visits per resident, against a typical 3.5 for libraries serving under 2,500 people, and lends 11 print items per resident against a typical 3.9. On both counts it beats 89% of similar-size libraries across the U.S. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Osborne Public Library serves 1,303 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 38 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
Big on e-books and audiobooks
Digital borrowing runs 4.7 e-items per resident, against a typical 1, higher than at 94% of similar-size libraries. It’s 30% of all loans. What people borrow ↓
Nearly everyone in Osborne has a card
1,210 cards for 1,303 people, or 93%. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Osborne’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Osborne is among the top 1% of U.S. towns. All three inputs put Osborne near the top nationally; Osborne’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
16 community nonprofits are registered in Osborne
11.8 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: civic groups, clubs & veterans.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
13.6%
13.6% of Osborne’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 8.7% in the typical Kansas town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Osborne’s residents live; 2022.
More than half the print loans are kids’ books
20K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.9 time last year, on average.
6,067 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Osborne Public Library serves 1,303 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 10 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
About 1 kids’ program a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Osborne last year.
A National Register landmark since 1987
Osborne Public Library, 325 W Main, Osborne.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Loans renew on their own if no one’s waiting. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Osborne? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
Osborne Public Carnegie Library
Osborne Public Carnegie Library was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Jun 25, 1987. It is significant for its education, architecture and social history at the local level. It was listed as part of Carnegie Libraries of Kansas TR.
The Osborne Public Carnegie Library is a historic Carnegie library in Osborne, Kansas. It was built around 1913 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It is located at Third and Main in Osborne, the county seat of Osborne County.
More about the building →For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $2.55 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Osborne cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $124K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $317K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $124K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,210 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Osborne
Does Osborne have a public library?
Yes. Osborne Public Library, 325 W Main, serves Osborne’s 1,303 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 38 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Osborne Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Osborne’s library?
It logged 9.7 visits and lent 15.6 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Osborne’s civic life grade?
A+ Osborne is among the top 1% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Osborne.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. Building history: National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places; photo via Wikimedia Commons. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.